Engine Removed for Repair

[jbromley]

Hello all!

I recently purchased a 99 Porsche Boxster with 65k miles.

In the process of purchasing it I ran a car-fax report to ensure there were no concerns. Nothing poped up that concerned me, but something came up that I was curious about.

There is an entry on 7/2/2004 (28,269 mi) from my local dealer Aristocrat Motors that states "Engine removed for repair"

I tried to get the dealer to tell me what they did and why, but they refused because I was not the customer that had the car serviced at the time.

Anyway, I was encouraged because this means there is at least a chance that the dealer has done the IMS on the car.

I still put in a magnetic drain plug and will very closely monitor the oil at each oil change, because you can't be too safe. However, does anyone have any experience with this? Does it seem likely that the car-fax entry is pointing to an IMS replacement, and if so anyone have any experience with dealer replaced IMS? Do did they correct the problem, or are they still just as prone to failure?


Thanks!

[harryrcb]

Originally Posted by jbromley

Hello all!
There is an entry on 7/2/2004 (28,269 mi) from my local dealer Aristocrat Motors that states "Engine removed for repair"

Anyway, I was encouraged because this means there is at least a chance that the dealer has done the IMS on the car.

I still put in a magnetic drain plug and will very closely monitor the oil at each oil change, because you can't be too safe. However, does anyone have any experience with this? Does it seem likely that the car-fax entry is pointing to an IMS replacement, and if so anyone have any experience with dealer replaced IMS? Do did they correct the problem, or are they still just as prone to failure?

Thanks!

you do not remove the engine for IMS replacement and even if they did in 04 they would have put the same bearing back in. as long as its not leaking or even seeping leave it alone. change oil often use the proper oil and drive it often and the way it was supposed to be driven. don't lug the motor!!!
enjoy the car

[jbromley]

Originally Posted by harryrcb

even if they did in 04 they would have put the same bearing back in

That is what I suspected. All in all it doesn't matter much. I'll still keep a close eye on it and probably change it with the clutch when it needs one.

Thanks for the info.

[ronster]

First of all you can't rely on CarFaux to be accurate about what has been done to your car. As Harry stated dealers don't typically remove motors to replace the IMS as Porsche replaced the motors that failed under warranty. The dealer is blowing smoke at you regarding not telling you what was done. I ran into the same issue when tracking down some entries regarding dealer work on my '99 when I bought it. The first thing the maintenance manager told me was it was confidential and I asked why and was told they couldn't disclose information about the original owner. I convinced them that I wasn't interested in information about the owner just what was done to the car and one time had to go over the service managers head but I did succeed in finding out what was done. Be more persistent with them.

[mikefocke]

See if the serial number on the engine indicates a replacement motor

[bar10dah]

Originally Posted by jbromley

I tried to get the dealer to tell me what they did and why, but they refused because I was not the customer that had the car serviced at the time.

I asked my dealer about the service history for my car. They not only looked it up, they printed a screenshot of each job for me.

With the carfax, I found two other locations that worked on this car. I called them both up and they both told me, over the phone, what work was done to the car and when.

Maybe you've got to talk to the right people? Or maybe I just got lucky?

[intakexhaust]

Could you possibly talk to the dealer principal, explain your curiosity, tell them to 'blank out' the prior customer personal info and just provide the service details? I worked years ago at a dealership and gladly provided copies of service records like that. Its a special car for crisake and if the dealer is ignorant and still refuses to, tell them your not interested in buying any car from them in the future.

Oh, yes and one more thing to share. Years ago I purchased a used Audi and discovered the maintenance book was bogied up with dealer stamps! I sued all parties and my lawyer had an orgasm and settled out of court. I'm not done yet... while working at another TOP prominent high-line import dealership the OWNER would have some of the trade-ins odo'd turned! When I found out, I confronted that SOB and quit. I regret not reporting to the law but at the same time didn't want to end up in the bottom of a lake. The bottom line is to really be diligent in a used car purchase.

[newlife]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

Could you possibly talk to the dealer principal, explain your curiosity, tell them to 'blank out' the prior customer personal info and just provide the service details? I worked years ago at a dealership and gladly provided copies of service records like that. Its a special car for crisake and if the dealer is ignorant and still refuses to, tell them your not interested in buying any car from them in the future.

Oh, yes and one more thing to share. Years ago I purchased a used Audi and discovered the maintenance book was bogied up with dealer stamps! I sued all parties and my lawyer had an orgasm and settled out of court. I'm not done yet... while working at another TOP prominent high-line import dealership the OWNER would have some of the trade-ins odo'd turned! When I found out, I confronted that SOB and quit. I regret not reporting to the law but at the same time didn't want to end up in the bottom of a lake. The bottom line is to really be diligent in a used car purchase.

Hahah.... good one... and good advice !

Rod